See How 16th Century Maps Compare To The Latest Satellite Imagery

Remember life before GPS? Instead of to-the-minute maps and turn-by-turn directions to the tune of an Australian woman’s voice, we relied on compasses and hand drawn maps.Georg Braun and Franz Hogenberg compiled Civitates Orbis Terrarum, a book of bird’s eye view maps from the 16th century.

Take a look at how the Google Maps of the 1500’s compares to today’s version, in some of the world’s biggest cities.

LONDON 1572

LONDON 2011

DUBLIN 1617

DUBLIN 2011

CAIRO 1572

CAIRO 2011

ROME 1572

ROME 2011

FLORENCE 1572

FLORENCE 2011

FRANKFURT 1572

FRANKFURT 2011

ISTANBUL 1572

ISTANBUL 2011

LISBON 1572

LISBON 2011

MILAN 1572

MILAN 2011

PARIS 1572

PARIS 2011

PRAGUE 1572

PRAGUE 2011

MOSCOW 1572

MOSCOW 2011

Now take a look at population shifts in your favourite American cities